Tuesday, October 20, 2009

letter pillow

I love letters!! I love letters on quilts, pillows, walls...etc. I am currently looking for a cool H for the wall.

Anyway, I decided to make my boys some letter pillows for their beds. Zac's pillows were small, so I (actually my mom made his) did his whole name. For the other boys I did large letters, so only their first initial.

Here is Jake's pillow on the couch.



I'm terrible with tutorials, but here it goes...if you have any questions or something doesn't make sense....leave me a comment and I will respond in the comment section or leave your email and I will send you an email.

How to make the pillows....this is what I did anyway:)
  • trace or draw your letter onto a piece of poster board...make sure that you take into account a 1/4-1/2" seam allowance, so that your finished pillow will be the size you want.
  • cut out the fabric for the front side of your pillow. make sure that the right side of your fabric faces the correct way.
  • cut out the fabric for the back side of your pillow. cut the back side so that the right side of the fabric is the mirror image of the letter...does that make any sense....your letter should be backwards on the wrong side of the fabric.
  • place the rights sides of your fabric together and pin, if you want...I didn't...I'm lazy like that.
  • sew a 1/4-1/2 seam around the fabric leaving a 3-4 inch gap open for stuffing the fiberfill into the pillow.
  • stuff the pillow to desired firmness.
  • hand stitch or machine stitch opening closed.
  • done.

Zac's pillows...I know they don't really match the bedding, he was temorarily sleeping in this bed when I took these photos.

Posted over at Kimba's DIY Day.

Monday, October 19, 2009

from gas fireplace to wood stove

We recently...as in just finished this past week...tore out our gas fireplace(my wonderful bro-in-law did most of that part:)) and replaced it with a wood burning stove. We are SO excited to burn some wood and stay warm this winter. We had some pretty high gas bills last year(not from using the gas fireplace), so we are hoping to save some money by burning wood. Last year to keep our gas bill from being TOO high, we kept the thermostat at 62 degrees and put some radiator heaters in the kids bedrooms so they wouldn't freeze.....this year maybe we can be WARM during the winter!! Now my husband is looking forward to the cold weather.


before
don't pay any attention to the fact that we STILL haven't cut in next to the crown molding.
Also...need new couches or slipcovers or SOMETHING!!

After
still need to re-attach the molding next to the door and lay some tile on the concrete between the rock and wood floor.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Our 'Wall of Fame'


I have been working on a project to add to Whitney and Ashley's I Made it Without my Hubby project...but it is not quite finished yet:( I am still working on it...so check back soon.

Anyway...I REALLY want to win the pink hammer at Shanty 2 Chic, SO I am going to enter this project that I did without my Hubby last year.

We call this our Wall of Fame. It is an old window frame that I bought from a friend. One of the panes was broken, so I broke the other out replaced the glass with sheet metal to create a magnet board. My boys LOVE to check out their pictures, awards and tests on the wall.

I used my hubby's tin snips to cut the metal to the size of the openings and stuck it on with liquid nails. I sanded off the loose paint on the window frame and left the rest 'as is' and I love it!

Edited to add: I forgot to mention before...we also use this as a dry erase board...you can see a few red words that were wiped off, but never really cleaned...oops should have done that before I took the picture, but no time now. We are off to soccer practice.

Go check out the other fun projects at the I Made it Without my Hubby party.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Homemade Oreo Cookies

I have posted this recipe before at The Sisters Dish, so if you have ever checked out my other blog, you may have seen it already.

These cookies are SO good! They are super easy and only have a few ingredients! I really LOVE these cookies. Give these a try, you WON'T be disappointed!

The cookie in the picture above was dusted with powdered sugar while it was still warm, so it kind of looks like mold of something.....oops!
Homemade Oreo Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 2 devil's food cake mixes
  • 2 cubes/sticks butter
  • 4 eggs

Directions: Mix ingredients together. Roll into small balls(about 1 T). Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. When cookies are cool spread filling on one cookie and sandwich with another.

Cream Cheese Filling

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cube of butter
  • 8 oz. cream cheese
  • 1 t vanilla
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions: Beat ingredients together until smooth

I'm posting this over at ASPTL DIY Day

Monday, October 5, 2009

before and after....front door

BEFORE...or actually during..


We moved into our home almost 2 1/2 years ago and we have MANY projects on our to-do lists!! One of them that was towards the top was STAIN front door and trim!! It took us a year before my husband dared try to stain the laminate door himself! I must say that I think it looks absolutely fabulous! I definite improvement!! He did a great job, now(for the last year and a half) I don't cringe every time I look at the front door as I pull into the drive.... instead I SMILE!!



After

I will be showing you other projects around the house as we finish them and can mark them off the list! It seems that our list just keeps getting LONGER, not shorter!

Another crocheted hat

When I saw this hat here. I knew I wanted to learn to crochet so that I could make one for myself. After I made one for myself I made one for my niece. I adjusted the pattern for her small little head. I love the little pink button that I found in my Grandma's sewing desk that is now mine:)



I wish that I had gotten a better picture before I gave it away! The band doesn't really look that big compared to the top of the hat....just took the second picture from a weird angle I guess:) I tried to get my little guy to model it, but he wouldn't keep it on long enough for a picture!